Back to Wellington

We had a very early start today to catch our 07.45 plane from Fiji back to Wellington. We were able to check in at the hotel, so only had our luggage to drop off at the airport. The journey went very smoothly and I managed to get a couple of hours sleep on the plane, at least I think I did, it’s always quite hard to tell. We retrieved our other suitcase from Jamie and Kerry’s, and after being greeted by an exuberant and welcoming Whisky dog, Jamie gave James and I a lift to our new and very tiny wooden Airbnb on the hill high behind Island Bay. Although it is very small (tiny houses are a popular eco friendly option in NZ) it is nice and clean with everything we could need, and it has gorgeous views over Island Bay. We walked down to the Beach House Café for coffee and cake on the terrace, and then James went for a walk while I went down to sit on the beach in the sunshine. Although it didn’t seem all that windy, the wind was whipping up the sand and it was getting into my ears and hair, so I retreated back to the Airbnb and sat on a beanbag on the decking and read my book. Update on Tom - he has been to the vet and has been given antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. It turns out that the claw is still there, under a large burst abscess. I can only assume that Tom has been fighting another cat nearby who is inflicting these recent injuries on him. Then when Davie was taking him back home, Tom urinated copiously on his car, so Davie has had to clean and disinfect the seat! This is above and beyond the call of duty!
Jamie picked up James and me by car and took us to Burwah Street where we had a curry and watched a film “The Hit Man” which was very amusing. I got some lovely cuddles from my Grand-dog Whisky. 

Spa and cocktails

Back to the pool today after our usual delicious breakfast. Kerry very generously treated me to a fantastic spa treatment, and it was great. Kerry came too and we were treated in the same room which was very companionable. First of all we were given a scoop of mango sorbet, and then we had our back massages side by side. I noticed that the masseuse kept homing in on my sore shoulder, which has been getting worse recently, even though I hadn’t mentioned it. The massage was wonderful, and when it was time to turn over for my facial I pointed at my shoulder and said “How did you know?” She smiled and said “As soon as I touched your shoulder I could feel all the knots and tension.” My shoulder has been feeling much better since the massage. The facial was lovely too and we were given wee cups of lemon tea in the lounge area afterwards. Kerry and I agreed that we felt very relaxed. We had lunch at the poolside and then even more relaxation and reading, sustained by cocktails and mocktails delivered to our sun loungers. Davie phoned from Scotland to tell us that Tom seems to have lost a claw; his paw is bloody and although he isn’t limping, he keeps lifting his paw up when he is sitting. Davie said that it looks very sore but that Tom is “putting a brave face on it!” He is planning to take Tom to the vet. At tea time we went round to Denarau Harbour again, where we had drinks at Lulu’s followed by dinner at Bonefish. Jamie and Kerry gave me hairpins decorated with Fiji flowers, I love them! The food was superb; I think it was the best meal of our holiday. We will be sorry to leave beautiful Fiji tomorrow. 

Dancing on the beach

We all had a relaxing morning at the adult pool before our big night out later! We relaxed, swam, read our books, and gazed at the impossibly beautiful views of the South Pacific. I took part in the Aqua aerobics again, and floated about in the pool. Mid afternoon we were picked up for our trip to Likuri Island, aka Robinson Crusoe island. An hour long bus journey took us to a jetty on Tuva River, where two boats were waiting to take us another half hour to the island. The river was thickly bordered by mangrove trees with their roots hanging down into the water; we were reminded of the film Apocalypse Now! It was nearly dark when we stepped on to the sandy beach and were ushered to tables around a central area, with a handy bar nearby. The evening began with a Kava ceremony followed by a hearty dinner which had been baked in an earth oven for several hours. I was gratified by the variety of tasty vegetables which accompanied the meat and fish. 
I’m usually a bit ambivalent about cultural displays for tourists, I sometimes feel awkward as if I’m intruding on other people’s traditions. However in this case the dancers were so excellent, and the host so friendly and humorous, that it was a really great experience. It was interesting to see the older experienced dancers compared to the young extremely energetic ones! There was a display of fire walking, a bonfire on the beach which had us all dancing, and finally a display of fire dancing which was very skilled and entertaining. Back in the boats we went on our journey back to our hotel, this time in complete darkness apart from the small lights of the boat; we could see wee bugs flying past briefly illuminated in the light, and silvery fish leaping out of the water. 
I suppose I should mention that by the time we arrived on the island the polls had closed in the American Election (they are nearly a day behind NZ because of the international date line so it was still the 5th November in the USA) and Trump was leading in the results. When we checked our phones again later back at the hotel it was all over - Donald Trump has beaten Kamala Harris and will now be the American President for a second term, four years after he was voted out of office. Oh well, it’s hard to understand how he won, both politically and personally, but as I said eight years ago, the people of America have voted so there’s no use grousing about it. 

Schooner Island

Today we went on a boat trip to Schooner Island, about an hour and a half by boat (the Whale’s Tale) from Denarau Harbour. We were served breakfast on the boat, with unlimited drinks including champagne. Schooner Island is a proper desert island! It is tiny, and consists completely of white sand with wee bits of coral in it. After a Kava welcome ceremony we grabbed snorkels and masks and followed the guide out to the reef. It was absolutely amazing; there are not enough superlatives to describe it! We saw so many brightly coloured fish; hundreds and hundreds of black and white zebra fish, and also zebra fish with yellow stripes instead of white. There were tiny bright blue fish, iridescent multi-coloured fish, blue starfish, and lots more. The guide gave us bread which we held under the water in upturned hands and the zebra fish came swarming in to eat it; the feel of their wee mouths bumping against my hands as they scoffed the bread was amazing. 
Lunch was in big airy wooden hut in the middle of the island and then James and Jamie went snorkelling again while Kerry and I read our books on a couple of the sun loungers that were scattered around in the shade of thatched shelters. I went for another swim and gazed around at the little waves lapping on the sand. The water was so warm - like a bath! And the colour of the sea was a beautiful azure blue.
We set off back towards Denarau late afternoon and sat up on the poop deck enjoying the views. As we passed some mangrove trees we saw a flying fish jumping along in and out of the water. 
We had a convivial dinner later at the hotel’s Asian restaurant and chatted about our adventures. 

Bula!

We woke up in beautiful Fiji with the beach and sea outside our window. A hearty and excellent breakfast ensued before we all nipped to reception to book a couple of excursions over the next four days. And then we all headed to the main pool to chill out, swim and read. An aqua aerobics class was just starting which was great fun, the Fiji music was great and we all had to do a routine and then shout Bula! Cocktails and mocktails by the pool followed, with exotic birdsong all around us and the beach just beyond the pool. There are lots of mynah birds and some bulbuls with tufts on their heads. 
In the evening we all walked round to Denarau Harbour, an easy thirty minute stroll. We looked around the smart clothes and souvenir shops, which looked as if they were aimed at people from cruise ships and luxury yachts, and then had dinner at one of the restaurants on the harbour front. 

Earthshine

James and I checked out of our Airbnb and then collected Jamie from the airport at 10. After dropping him at home we had breakfast at the Island Bay Beach House (of course!) There were huge waves sweeping into the bay; banks of turquoise water swelling up and then sloping down, crashing against the rocks. Spectacular. We took an Uber with Jamie and Kerry from Burwah Street to the airport and caught the 13.35 plane to Fiji. When boarding was announced the Air Fiji asked us if we were ready to fly to paradise! We had amazing views of Island Bay as we climbed up into the air, we could see the waves clearly. It took about three hours to fly from Wellington to Fiji, and after going through arrivals and biological security we got to the hotel at about 5.30 p.m. The Hilton is a long hotel with lots of different white painted villas and buildings. Our rooms are next to each other and they are lovely; facing on to the long, sandy beach. We went for a stroll along to the adult pool where we all had a swim before dinner. We saw a mynah bird sitting on the grass near us, and another one on the roof of a building. The air and the water were so warm, it was idyllic, and the sky was blue and pink and orange as the sun set. Dinner was excellent and we had a good chat before retiring to bed somewhat exhausted after our journey. The moon was a thin crescent, lit at the bottom rather than the side with its “horns” pointing upward. I could see the rest of the moon as a pale glow; this is called Earthshine.

Wellingtonians

We had a lovely Wellington day today. It has worked well spending a fortnight in this friendly and vibrant city, getting to know the area quite well. James and I had breakfast in our favourite Island Bay Beach House Café, sitting outside looking at the sea and the snow capped mountains of the South Island. We had a pleasant day walking around Wellington harbour area and meeting Kerry, Kevin and Jenny for coffee at Beach Babylon. In the afternoon we did some packing; one suitcase for Fiji and one to be left at Jamie and Kerry’s house in Wellington. After a very tasty dinner at Burwah Street made by Kerry we headed back to the Airbnb for a cup of tea and I phoned Jennifer for a nice chat and then we watched an episode of Vikings. I was sorry to hear on the news that Janey Godley has died today back in Scotland at the age of only 63. She kept us all going during the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 with her hilarious voiceovers of Nicola Sturgeon’s daily Covid updates.